Plast Craft Games have gone back in time to Feudal Japan with their latest range of Color-ED Terrain. Designed with Kensei in mind this set of pre-painted terrain will focus on bringing Japan to life for 28mm to 35mm ranges. See what you think of it, available very soon…

All of the terrain is designed in the same way as the rest of their range, allowing you to build terrain very quickly. It’s great to see them looking at entirely different designs with their gates, temples, bridges and more…

The Village

First off we’re going to be taking a look at the smaller buildings in the range which form the little village outside of the Temple.

These buildings might look very basic but I think these are the kind of building you could grab in a number of different quantities and order them in different ways to create a fantastic village landscape. I also like that the roofs have that gentle slope to them, perfect for a Ninja to run across the top of.

The Temple

I keep calling this a Temple but it might not be. I like to think it’s a perfect place for a group of Monks to hole up, train, and generally live out an idyllic existence next to the water. Well, until your hordes come crashing in with swords waving around in the air setting everything on fire.

I really like this little outcrop feature on their diorama board and the bridge that leads to it. This is something I would recreate if I was looking to make a board in this style. I think this could provide you with a wonderful narrative on the tabletop where your Samurai are just about holding out, blocking the bridge against attackers.

Interestingly if some of the scatter terrain comes within the sets you could use it to almost barricade the bridge as the defender.

Gates!

Who would have thought someone could get excited about gates. Well, I think these make for quite a statement on the tabletop being in bright red and serve as an interesting focal point for your skirmishing. I particularly like that you get the two little guard tower type buildings next to them, although they might also be Shrines.

You could even take this terrain away from the Feudal Japanese era and into something like Sci-Fi or the modern day, since a lot of the buildings in Japan appear to have the same kind of design even now. I could see these lit by up neon with graffiti over them as Yakuza fight in a more rural setting.

OR, take it one step further and make it into a Cyberpunk district where you’re running away from heavily armoured Samurai cops!

What do you think?

"I really like this little outcrop feature on their diorama board and the bridge that leads to it..."

Honestly, I’m a massive fan of their ColorED Infinity stuff. It was easy to put together, reasonably priced and looks good. I’ll certainly be getting some of this stuff further down the line.

I understand pre-coloured stuff isn’t for everyone, but having a little 2 year old girl who wants to play with trains / cars / my little pony / magic paint / lego / go jump in muddy puddles / etc… I don’t have as much free time as I used to have back in the day, and I’m glad there is the option to get a nice looking battlefield really quickly.

Wow they look great, and can say so rightfully because I have been recently to Japan. I was looking for a excuse to play a Samurai game, now I have the scenography but haven’t found an appealing game system yet, Any suggestions?

I don’t, sadly. The Sengoku period gets covered in many generic historical systems such as War & Conquest or Pike & Shotte, but I’ve never come across a game that deals with it specifically. It’s the only reason I’ve not yet put a samurai army on the table.

Outside of historical systems, this scenery would be good for Kensei (naturally) and Bushido.

Thanks redone I have read the Kensei Rulebook, at least until I realized I didn’t fancy their mechanics (but I love the miniature range). On the other hand I know nothing about Bushido. The game for me has the lead at the moment is Osprey’s Ronin, because I am a big BIG fan of In Her Majesty’s Name, but I’m afraid Ronin it’s just a reskin of the same rules although I do recall something like a “martial arts combat table” of some sort.

@Kamaron – Each of Osprey’s wargame rules sets is a one off, written by a different author and with no reference to other Osprey games. (The exception being those which have supplements of course.)

So just because you don’t like one game, or already have one game, doesn’t mean that you won’t enjoy one of the others. And the converse is true: just because you liked one of them doesn’t mean you’ll like one of the others.

I haven’t seen or played any of them, so I can’t say what they’re like. But if you’ve dismissed Ronin just because it’s by the same company as another game, I would have another look to see if it stands on its own merits.

Thanks for the comment angelic despot ^_^ but I didn’t mean to ditch Ronin because I own already a Osprey game, but that having IHMN rulebook already, what can Ronin ofer me that I cannot create or make with the rules I already have. But I will surely give them a try ^_^

Kensei is about to lunch a skirmish game using their Japanese minis. I have a ton of their models and they are really nice. Bashido I cannot get into because heroic scale models are not my cup of tea. But you are not me so might be worth a look.

I’ve not played any of these games yet but here are a few I’ve been considering: Ronin, SAGA (there’s fan made samurai versions, rumor is there will be a full on official version at some point), Lion Rampant, and Hail Ceasar (or maybe Pike &Shotte for later gunpowder heavy periods).

4Ground makes some nice 28mm Japanese style terrain as well. Depending on time, budget, and storage issues there are plenty of options between the two companies product lines.

My wife has a gazillion Clan War minis painted up. I’ve been thinking I should get even more of these things so she can get those guys up on a shelf with some scenery instead of living in a closed box.